Ernten
by KEBABREMOVER1804
Summary: -The first book of a 4 book Mass Effect alternate history series- "Kommandant Lukas Shepard is given command of the Reich's most advanced vessel, the U-1 Normandie, when the Second Human-Turian War breaks out. But when an unholy force assists the Reich in her victories, will Shepard be able to remain loyal to his fatherland?" Alt-history of my regular series in progress.
1. Chapter 1

**Kapitel Eins**

 _9\. Januar, 2183_

 _Philadelphia, Erde, Sol Reich_

The taxi dropped me off in front of my parents' house, and drove off. Finally, I'm home again. It's nice to be granted leave from the Fuhrer himself. I took a moment to look around me. The neighborhood was just as beautiful as ever, if not more. I crossed the street, and knocked on the door to the house. It took a while for my parents, Richard and Monika, to answer the door. Both were surprised to see me. "Lukas! You're finally home!" My mother kissed me on the cheek, and they took me inside.

The house was as clean as ever. We walked into the kitchen, and I sat down. They already had food ready for me. "Danke. This really wasn't necessary." They shook their heads. My father sat next to me at the table. "It was. A brave soldier of the Reich, my son, returns to me safe!" He sighed. "I remember my time as a soldat. Never saw that much action, except quelling a few riots in Neu Athens." He took another look at me. I saw him inspect every element of the black uniform I was wearing, from the boots, to the medals pinned to my coat, the armband on my arm bearing a swastika, and the skulls on my collar. He was obviously proud of me.

When mother finally came to the table, we held hands in prayer. My father began. "Dear God, bless the Reich and the Fuhrer forever. Thank you for returning our son home safely, and ensure that he has many journeys to come. Amen." We began eating the porkchops in front of us. As good as ever. My father looked up at me from his food. "I heard of the combat on Akuze. Or, should I say, Zählen. You were there, correct?" I nodded. "Ja. we halted a rebellion that could've destabilized the whole region." I took another drink from the cup of milk in front of me. "I managed to get 30 degenerates in a single day." My parents beamed. My mother took my hand. "We're so proud of you, Lukas. Never forget that." I couldn't help but smile too. "Danke, mother." We kept eating.

When we were nearly finished, my father turned on the TV. It was the news, nothing big. I finished my food. "Danke, both of you. This was a fine meal." I stood up, bowed to them, and made my way upstairs to my old room. Tidy, to say the least. They've kept it preserved for years. I layed down on my bed, and closed my eyes. I didn't necessarily sleep, I just thought about what had happened on Zählen. I just lied to my parents. That's going to bother me for quite some time. There wasn't a revolt on Zählen at all. The colony had gone silent, and when we got there, there was no sign of the colonists. And on top of that, there were these strange worm things that nearly wiped us out. It was reported in the news that the "rebels had been fighting ferociously", and had obviously lied about the body count. But I can see why they'd lie. You don't want the public to panic about something like this.

I opened my eyes, and turned on the TV across the room. It was running news about Zählen, still. It was still running the recorded interviews with me, and praising me as the "perfect Aryan man". I had blond hair, blue eyes, and had no degenerate blood in me. Of course I was the perfect Aryan. But then again, there are barely any degenerates these days. I got up from my bed, and looked out the window. Of course, we had a perfect view of the city. The spaceport was the most prominent structure downtown, with the banners draping down the sides of the building. I looked down at the street below. Each streetlamp had a flag draping down from it. Well, long live the Reich, I guess. I took off my uniform, hung it up in my closet, and fell asleep in my bed.

 _The next day..._

I awakened to the smell of breakfast downstairs. Ah, just like when I was young. I searched through my baggage, and found some casual clothes to wear. I slipped them on, and went downstairs. When I got down there, I found my parents intently watching the TV while eating breakfast. I grabbed a plate of toast and bacon from the counter, and sat down at the table. I looked up at the TV. It was playing the news about something. I took a better look at it. What...?

A turian attack on Eden Primzahl? This can't be happening. The Treaty of Noveria hasn't expired yet. The Fuhrer came on screen. "Yesterday, the Reich was unfairly assaulted by the Turian Hierarchy. They've disregarded our efforts towards peace, and this attack is a clear act of war. The Reich will prevail." He extended his arm in the salute of the party. "Sieg heil!" We stood from the table, and followed the salute. "Heil Hitler!" So, war had finally come. Well, it looks like my leave is being cut short.


	2. Chapter 2

**Kaptitel Zwei**

 _12\. Januar, 2183_

 _Philadelphia Weltraum-Flughafen_

There were many other soldiers here at the Spaceport, waiting to return to their units. Ah, what a shame it is. A lot of these men probably won't be alive in a few months' time. I opened my omnitool, and checked the time. It was very early. The buzz of the Spaceport didn't give off its usual vibe. Instead, I could tell that everyone else was extremely tense. But then again, a war was starting. Everyone's tense.

Another soldier was standing next to me. The rank on his uniform indicated that he was a Leutnant. He noticed me, and turned to talk to me. "Kommandant? I'm Leutnant Luddington." He had a significant Texan accent. "Leutnant, you don't sound like you're from around here. Where are you from?" "Texas, sir. My family lives here, though. I was visiting them when the mobilization was called." I nodded. "I was born here. I was just visiting home, but now it looks like it'll be a while before I see them again. Lt. Luddington pointed his thumb back towards a restaurant near the terminal. "Grab something to eat?" I shrugged, and followed him over.

I didn't actually order anything, but I just hung around with him, looking around at the place. There were guards everywhere, armed with G-150 rifles. Luddington was staring at one person. "See him? What's he carrying...?" I looked over at the man he was talking about. Yeah, he's a little suspicious. He doesn't look like a degenerate, but he seems a little nervous and rushed. He sat down in the crowd we were just in, and left his bag on the floor. He was looking around nervously. Wait... does he have a bomb?

Too late to stop him. He stood up, screamed out "America lives on!" and detonated the bomb in his back. Everyone in the crowd was killed, and we were knocked against the wall from the blast. I struggled to get up, and saw Luddington dead on the ground, with blood seeping from the back of his head. There were alarms blaring all around, and there was debris everywhere. Holy shit, so many people were dead. I was still very disoriented when I began hearing gunfire down the hall and screams. I could hear someone yell out something along the lines of "This is for America, fuckers!" I reached for the P65 pistol in my pocket and took cover. That was when one of the mortally wounded guards grabbed my leg. "Here, take this." He coughed, and handed me his G-150. Half of his body had been blown off. "Kill me." I looked away as I aimed the rifle at his head and pulled the trigger. His head was gone. I made my way down the hall, and now could see some insurgents and security forces in fighting through the smoke. I shouldered the semi-auto rifle, lined up the sights on one of the insurgents, and took a shot. He dropped, which alerted his comrades to my presence. Shit, they had automatic rifles. I'm done for. They fired a few bursts in my direction, and I felt sharp pain in my right leg. I fell to the ground, and passed out.

 _A few hours later_

I woke up in an ambulance. One of the paramedics held me down. "Calm down, Kommandant! You'll live!" I shook my head to clear my mind. What just happened? "What... happened?" The paramedic checked my vitals on his omnitool, and looked me in the eyes again. "Terrorist attack. It's a miracle you survived without any serious wounds." He took a look at my right leg. "You were just grazed, nothing serious." As I tried to get up, I felt a dull pain on my forehead. I brought my hand up, and felt around. When I looked at my hand, I panicked hard. There was blood all over it.

I could hear my heart monitor speeding up. The paramedic strapped me down again. "Shit, why did you take him off the sedative?!" I wanted to break out. I survive hundreds of battles, and this is how I'll go out? Not today! I kept struggling with my restraints, trying to break them. I couldn't, but I just kept trying. However, I began feeling more and more tired the more I tried to break the restraints. I turned my head, and saw that the paramedics were pumping more sedatives into me. Great. I began drifting off as more of the chemicals were pumped into me.

 _?_

The smell of ashes engulfed my nostrils. I opened my eyes, and looked at the destruction around me. The city was nothing but rubble and fire. Thousands of bodies lay around me, decaying, a reminder of the price payed in war. I looked down at my armor to see if there was any major damage.

What...? The standard swastika on my chestplate had been scratched out, and something else had been painted in its place. A flag of some sort, and it was very familiar. Wait, I recognize it from history. The flag of... America? Why? I don't know. I raised myself up from the bodies below me, and began aimlessly wandering. I had to find someone, someone dear. I don't know who, but I just have to find them.

The bodies below me were of multiple species. Krogan, asari, turian, human, salarian, even quarian bodies lay around me. So this is hell. Have I died? Did I really go out like I did? I heard a scream from behind me. I swivelled around, and began wandering in that direction. "LUKAS, HELP!" It was the voice of a woman, and it was coming from underneath some rubble nearby. I got on my hands and knees and began digging through the stone and metal to get to her. She kept calling out my name. When I finally dug through and got a good look at her, she was... quarian? She was rather beautiful, too. I stuck my hand out, and pulled her out of the rubble.

We helped each other up, and inspected each other for wounds. One moment I was rubbing dust off of her suit, but the next, I had embraced her, and I felt compelled to hold the hug as long as I could. I could feel her hands feeling up and down my back as we pressed together in a loving way. She came up on her toes to my ears. "You're alive."

I woke up suddenly in what seemed like a hospital room. It was dim, with only one lamp on. I took a look at myself. I was hooked up to an IV filled with what I assume was a sedative. The clock on the wall read "2:00 AM" I laid my head back down on my pillow. My God, what happened? I smashed the button to call a nurse into my room. I need to know where I am, what happened, and who that quarian from my vision was. But, that's a question that a nurse probably can't answer.

In a few minutes a nurse came into my room. "Is there a problem, Kommandant?" I nodded. "Where am I?" The nurse sat in the chair next to the bed. "Philadelphia Krakenhaus. You've been here for a few hours now." He began checking my vitals. "You appear to be fine now. You were pretty nasty when you came in. I'll get the paperwork filled out for your release." He stood up and left, leaving me thinking on the bed. I grabbed the TV remote on the nightstand, and switched the TV on. The news was covering the attack on the Philadelphia Spaceport by now, and they were even reporting on me and my "heroism and efforts to stop the terrorists". Apparently, a group called "America Forever" was claiming responsibility for the attacks. Great, we've got turians and terrorists on our hands. This war is going to take a long time to finish.


	3. Chapter 3

**Kapitel Drei**

 _16\. Januar, 2183_

 _Führer Residenz, Berlin_

I've been waiting to meet the Fuhrer for some time now. I've watched many other people just walk into his office without having to wait, and that's starting to piss me off a little. But then again, I'm meeting the Fuhrer. This is a rare thing. Just as I was about to drift off to sleep again on the bench, one of the Fuhrer's assistants came out of the Fuhrer's office. "Der Führer will see you now, Kommandant." I grabbed my bag from the bench, and followed the assistant into the Fuhrer's office.

Holy shit, this place is intimidating. There were banners hung from the walls, and there were portraits of Fuhrers past hung all around. The ceiling was rather high. The Fuhrer's desk was in the center of the room, with the view of Berlin behind it. The Fuhrer was standing by the window, looking over the city. When I entered, he turned his head to look at us. His face lit up. "Ah, Kommandant Shepard, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." He waved the assistant off. I extended my arm in the traditional Party salute. "Sieg heil, mein Fuhrer." The Fuhrer laughed, and gestured to the chair in front of the desk. "At ease, Kommandant. Have a seat." I felt myself loosen up. Wow, is the Fuhrer this informal? I took off my cap, and sat down in the chair with legs crossed.

The Fuhrer began pacing around the desk. "So, you were in the Philadelphia terrorist attack, yes?" I nodded. "Yes. I managed to get one of the terrorists before being wounded." The Fuhrer seemed impressed. "Hm. I've been reviewing your record..." He opened up something on the computer on his desk. "What you've been through would break other men. I know _exactly_ what happened on Akuze, Kommandant. From what I can see, you're the model of what every soldat should be." What? He knew about the maws? I didn't know what to say. "Oh, well, thank you, mein Fuhrer." He opened up something else on his computer.

"Well, I didn't call you here to Berlin just to discuss your service record. I called you here for this." A holographic projector opened up on the desk, and the image of some kind of ship popped up. "This, Kommandant, is the U-1 Normandie." I took a closer look at it. Strange. It's rather small for a warship. "What is this 'Normandie', mein Fuhrer?" The Fuhrer turned the computer towards me to see. "The Normandie is made of very advanced technology. She is a stealth cruiser. Very few know about this ship, Shepard." I took a look at the specs. Turian technology had been marked in red. Wow... nearly half of this ship is turian tech. That's even stranger. "Why are you showing me this, mein Fuhrer?"

The Fuhrer chuckled. "You still don't get it? I want you at the helm of it." What? I could feel myself sweating more. Seriously. I've never commanded a ship before. "Now, before you say anything, I know that you've never had command of a ship before, much less something like this. But you're perfect for the role. People look up to you when you command them. You have this quality of leadership to you... in fact, you'd make a great Fuhrer." What? "That's a joke, don't answer that. I'll be taking you to see the ship for yourself in a few days. It's at Arcturus-Station."

 _21\. Januar, 2183_

 _Arcturus-Station_

I've been waiting here at Arcturus-Station with the Fuhrer for a few days now. Apparently, they've been putting some finishing touches on the Normandie. I've been mostly kept in the dark about these "finishing touches", but I think I'll find out at some point.

I was resting on a bench in the terminal when I could hear the Fuhrer coming over. "Kommandant, the Normandie is ready for us." I got up and starting following the Fuhrer to the window. "This ship is a beauty, isn't she?" We stopped at the window. My God, she's more beautiful in person. She had the regular jet black color of normal Kriegsmarine ships, with red stripes running from one end of the ship to the next. The eagle of the Reich had been painted on the side, with the Swastika painted on the fins. It was the embodiment of the Kriegsmarine in a single vessel.

The Fuhrer turned to me. "Well, let's go see it, shall we?" I nodded, and we proceeded into the airlock. The airlock sealed. "Bereithalten. Dekontamination im gange." A gas filled the room, which I guess was some kind of decontaminant, and the door to the Normandie opened up. When we stepped in, everyone was waiting in the main room. Everyone stood at attention and saluted. "Heil the Fuhrer!" The Fuhrer saluted them back. "Ladies, gentlemen, here is your Kommandant, Lukas Shepard." I bowed to them. "It is an honor to serve alongside each and every one of you. At ease." The crew relaxed and returned to their posts. The Fuhrer turned to me. "Well, I have business to attend to. There is a war going on, you know. You're to set out immediately." He saluted. "Sieg heil." He went back into the airlock, and left the ship.

I could hear the pilot yelling at someone over the comms. "What do you mean that the AI is going in no matter what?! This is my ship!" He turned around in his chair and saw me. He shut off the comms. "Oh, sorry, sir. Flug Leutenant Jeff Moreau reporting for duty. Just call me Joker, by the way." Ok...? "Who were you just arguing with?" He turned back to the controls. "Well, the ship designers. They want some sort of AI installed in this beauty, but I can handle this thing fine! Do they think that the finest pilot in the Kriegsmarine can't handle this thing?!" He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Kommandant. It's just pissing me off. We heading out?" I nodded. "Yeah. Just take us wherever, and get used to the controls. I'll be down in my quarters if you need me." I turned around, and began walking down to the crew deck, where my quarters supposedly were.

My quarters actually weren't that bad, even thought the room felt rather empty. I have a feeling it won't be as empty the further this war goes on. I took off my uniform, climbed into bed, and drifted off to sleep.

 _?_

Flames. Alarms. The rush of the crew. Everything was coming down. I was securing my helmet on when that quarian ran up to me. "Lukas, we have to go!" I turned to her quickly. "No. You go, I have to stay and help people get out." She tugged on me. "We're getting out of here! I can't lose you!" I pulled myself out of her grasp. "This isn't any time to argue-" there was a moment where everything seemed to blur. "-so get to the escape pods." She turned around, and began making her way to the escape pod, leaving me alone.

I looked down at my body. Again, the usual emblem had been replaced by something. That American flag was still there. I began running up the stairs of the ship, and heard a massive explosion ahead. The ship began to rumble even harder. When I came out into CIC, everything was gone. The void of space was all that was there, except for wreckage. I made my way across the wreckage, trying to avoid whatever fire was coming from what seemed to be an enemy ship. I made my way to Joker, who had sealed the cockpit off from space. "Come on, I've still got this thing!" I grabbed Joker by the shoulder, and he looked up at me. "We have to go."

I woke up again in a cold sweat. What just happened? I sat up, and went into the bathroom. I splashed my face with cold water. I had seen that quarian again. Why? What did she have to do with me? And I had been seeing the destruction of the ship. Is that what's going to happen? No, probably not. This is the most advanced ship in the Kriegsmarine. There's no way that the turians can destroy this thing.

I checked the time on my omnitool. It was 0300 hours. I slipped my casual uniform on, and exited my quarters. The mess was silent, and there were a few crew members working on a few things here and there. I took the elevator down to the cargo bay. The M35 MTW was still down here, and there wasn't much to check on other than that. I walked down the hallway into engineering to find it buzzing with activity. The hum of the drive core was a rather comforting sound. But this isn't why I got up, so I began making my way up to CIC.

When I was in CIC, I got a message on my omnitool. Orders from high command? A new offensive to retake Eden Prime? Great. I checked the galaxy map to see where we were. Perfect, we were right nearby. I called up to Joker in the cockpit. "Joker, set a course for Eden Prime. We've got some business to take care of." "Alright. We'll be there ETA 10 hours."


End file.
